Ultra-rare James Bond 1965 Aston Martin DB5 for sale
A 1965 Aston Martin DB5. The preferred ride of Bond, James Bond. Image: Motor74/Flickr/CC BY
An ultra-rare 1965 Aston Martin DB5 used to promote classic James Bond films is headed to auction. It even comes with a plethora of spy gadgets seen in the films.
Most expensive Aston Martin DB5 ever
Aston Martin Specialist Dealer RS Williams is selling the only existing original Bond DB5 that has all the working gadgets seen in the films “Goldfinger” and “Thunderball.” But don’t expect any help from auto loan.com. If it gets the asking price of about $4.7 million, it will be the most an Aston Martin has ever sold for, beating out previous Bond auctions as well as the one once owned by Sir Paul McCartney. McCartney has his own connections to the Bond universe, however. He wrote and sang the theme song to “Live and Let Die” in the 1970s.
[For The Perfect Deal For A Pre-Owned Car, Van, Truck or SUV Look At Brooklyn Dealers Here.]
Bond tour
The 1965 Aston Martin DB5 in question was never seen in any Bond film, but it is one of four originally built by the production company to use either onscreen and or to promote the movies. It was used at press junkets in the United States.
No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to buy
Of the four DB5s built for the Bond films, only two had the working gadgets that made James Bond such a hit with action fans and gear heads. One was used onscreen. It was stolen from its owner in 1997 and has not been seen publicly since. The other on-screen DB5 was sold by RM Auctions in 2010 for $4.1 million. It was driven by Sean Connery in “Goldfinger” and “Thunderball,” but its gadgets were retro-fitted long after its star turn. The other car built for publicity purposes is now housed in the Louwman Museum in the Netherlands.
Spy ware
The gadgets on the DB5 being sold include oil slicks, bullet-proof wind screens, concealed machine guns mounted in the front, a secret car phone (in 1965, no less), a fog machine and a radar device mounted in the mirror. The car will be sold with a 21-page booklet that lists and describes them all.
Last September the Aston Martin DBS seen in “Quantum of Solace” also sold for just under $400,000.
Tomorrow never dies
More than half a century after his first movie appearance, James Bond continues to return to the screen regularly, even though all of the Ian Flemings books have been filmed (some more than once). It is the public’s enduring fascination with the super-suave spy that keeps movie and car lovers coming back for more.